1. Battle of the Somme 1.July – 19.November 1916
France and Britain against Germany on the Western Front
Largest battle of WWI
General Sir Douglas Haig
First battle to use Tanks 1

2. The Plan
British artillery will bombard the German trenches
Then shift to a “creeping barrage” strategy
Creeping Barrage – the artillery slowly increases distance to keep pace with the infantry
The infantry walk across No Man's Land and take the German side 2

3. Reality Britain = 420,000 France = 195,000
Battle began with a week of bombarding
Allied forces rushed to cross No Man's Land
German troops survived in massive dug-outs and began mowing down Allied troops with machine guns
British casualties = 57,000; 20,000 dead (just on the first day!)
Total casualties:
Britain = 420,000
France = 195,000
Germany = 650,000 in counter-attacks
British gained about 7 miles at the deepest point 3

4. 4

5. 5

6. Battle of Jutland

7. German Destroyer

8. British ship firing a broad-side

9. Losses at the Battle of Jutland

10. WWI U-boat

11. Submarine Warfare

12. “Dazzle”

13. Thought it would confuse enemy subs…

14. U-Boats violated the “Rules of War”
1917, Germany declared “unrestricted submarine warfare” – it would sink any ship going to Britain (even neutral ships!)